What drivers said after Cup championship race at Phoenix

Here is what drivers were saying after Sunday’s championship race at Phoenix:

Ross Chastain — Winner: "That last caution saved me. We were way too tight. Phil Surgen, these boys and girls, Michael Hann, our whole sim group, General Motors’ sim group, the whole workforce of 140-plus employees at Trackhouse, came up with a way to make this hot rod turn. She turned that last run, and drove off into the sunset.”

Ryan Blaney — Finished 2nd: “You never want to count yourself out. I mean, I think in the summer we were struggling a little bit. But we never gave up. We just went to work. I've said that all week, like, this group goes to work and they figure out problems. That's why they're such an amazing group to be with, with the Team Penske folks, 'cause they just put their head down and do the work, accept the challenge.”

Kyle Larson — Finished 3rd: “(Ryan Blaney’s) car was really fast, really the last few months. Yeah, especially here today. Our pit crew and pit road really kept us in the game. We weren't the greatest on the track, but I was just hoping for pit stops 'cause I knew the way our team executed our lights, the way our pit crew can execute a fast pit stop, I knew that was going to be our only shot really to win.”

William Byron — Finished 4th: “Yeah, once the track rubbered in, we got really tight, especially when we lost the lead. We just had a big balance shift and got tight back in second through fifth and just couldn’t gain a lot of speed through (Turns) 1 and 2, and just had to really over slow the car to get it to the bottom. That’s all we had there.”

Chris Buescher — Finished 5th: “I wish we would have been in the Championship 4 because we certainly had a shot at it here today. We drove forward. The first run we needed about 20 laps and after that we needed about five laps and after that we fired off good, so we had a good short and long run speed Fastenal Ford Mustang. I’ve never had that much fun here at Phoenix and I surely appreciate all those guys and girls’ hard work to get us to that point. That was fun. It was a great race."

Kevin Harvick — Finished 7th: “There was just so much going on before the race and this week, but it was pretty cool to lead some laps there in the last race. I’m just proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, everybody that works on this car and has worked on this car for a long time. I’ve just got to thank all the fans and NASCAR and my family and everybody for all of the support. It’s been a great ride and I can’t complain.”

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Austin Dillon — Finished 12th: “Great recovery by everyone on the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet team today. We finished 12th but I think we could have had a top-10 with just a few more laps in the race. I was a little disappointed to start the race because our Chevy was so far off from how it felt in qualifying on Saturday. Crew chief Keith Rodden and the rest of the RCR team stuck with it and we improved throughout the race. Our Chevy was as good as the leaders at one point."

Aric Almirola — Finished 13th: "I’m going to really miss that part right there. Going to battle with my guys. Just competing — competing at the top level with this 10 team. That’s the coolest thing about my job. I get to do what I love to do with people I love. It’s enjoyable to do this with the people that you love. I will certainly miss competing at the top level and competing with them and stepping into that racecar and feeling like a gladiator going to battle in front of a packed out racetrack. I’m so grateful and so thankful. God has blessed me in ways I never imagined possible."

Chase Briscoe — Finished 24th: “It’s a frustrating way to end the season. Obviously, I wish we could have had a better run. This has statistically been our best track and I thought we were gonna be OK. We were able to drive up to 12th and had a restart there where I kind of got drove through and lost all of our track position and from there could literally never get it back. That was aggravating to say the least, but we’ll try to come back next year better and stronger and I’m already looking forward to it."

Kyle Busch — Finished 25th: “We were loose early but crew chief Randall Burnett and the guys made adjustments throughout the race and got the car better. Unfortunately, as a team we made too many mistakes to contend for a top-10 finish today. We have a few things to clean up and improve on to be better entering next season, but everyone at RCR and ECR worked hard all season and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

Christopher Bell — Finished 36th: “Well, I mean that was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career. So, yeah, I was surprised but early on in the race I had a little bit of brake fade and the second run it just kept getting worse and worse. I don’t know. Just obviously a disappointing way to end.”